SainSmart Genmitsu CNC 3018-PRO GRBL Controlled 3-Axis CNC Milling Kit for Processing Acrylic, PVC, Wood, Soft Aluminium, Working Area 300 mm x 180 mm x 45 mm

Why I bought this machine...I bought this CNC machine in hopes that I would be able to use it to engrave a dog collar buckle that is made from zinc and powder coated. In short... It does! You just need to get the right bits. The ones offered from Sainsmart weren't quite strong enough but if you search Amazon for "VEDA 90 Degree 0.1mm Silver Carbide Milling Cutter" you will find a bit that works PERFECTLY with this machine to engrave soft metal.Ok so on to the machine itself...Assembly was really easy, the instructions are great. However, do yourself a favour and go onto YT and search for some building videos. There are plenty on there and they helped me speed through the build in less than an hour and make my first test carve.After about a day of testing, I noticed that the machine kept disconnecting from the PC. I tried everything that I could find online to fix the problem (swapping ports, cables, etc) but it kept stopping halfway through a carve due to this disconnect issue. I eventually ended up reaching out to SainSmart for help. They were super quick to come back to me and offer me some other options but the problem still carried on. Within a day they sent me a new control board and the machine is working perfectly!!This machine is not the cheapest 3018-Pro out there HOWEVER I follow a chap on YT and he highly recommended SainSmart as their support is excellent - that's why I decided to pay a little more. I am so glad that I did. Sometimes it's worth paying a little bit more to get AMAZING service.Other tips and advice...Vibrations: Get some sticky back foam to put on the feet of the machine. It vibrates a lot and when on my wooden workbench it sounded like I was drilling through the wall! With some foam feet, it's 90% quieter!The right bit for the right job: I mean you probably already know this but choosing the right bit for what you want to work on is so important. It took me some trial and error but was worth it in the long run.Test, test, test: This machine is really powerful for just a 10k RPM motor but you have to get your settings all dialled in correctly which takes a lot of testing.Things I would change...Adding feet: I wish they had supplied some proper feet or even pads to help with the vibrations.The power button: It's tiny! I have big hands and it's so awkward to push being so close to the reset button. If you mount the control board on the back then it's such a faff to try and turn it on and off.The clamps: I hate these. But, they are better than some other's I have seen that come with 3018s. I have ordered a different set from Amazon to see if they are better. Why do I hate them? Because it is just a bolt that sits in the grooves rather than a proper rectangle bolt which means you have to try and hold the bolt to stop it from turning whilst tightening the wing nut.Would I buy one again...Yes! Without a doubt and would buy from these guys again too.

I'm a total beginner to CNC but find it hard to believe there's a better option to start with at this price point. Assembly is trivial and the instructions clear, my 3 year old daughter even helped out.I have significant software development experience so faced no issues designing for and interfacing with the machine. I use Inkscape, cutjs and candle on Linux to do the cuts. Saying that there's very little help on the software side included in the manual so YMMV!So far I have been making slow cuts on 6mm plywood and 12mm oak. I use a 2mm bit with 0.5 mm cut depth and a feed rate of 500. I think this is taking it easy and the cuts are slow but the results satisfactory.By no means is this a high quality machine, there's a lot of improvements I intend to make. I feel it can be tweaked a fair bit but at the end of the day will always be a cheap, small machine with many limitations. However if you're looking to make your first cuts on some small pieces I think you'll be really pleased with the machine for the cost, I think I'll get a lot of real use out if it. I'm certainly happy with the purchase and would recommend it highly!

If you're thinking of exploring the world of CNC then you can't go wrong with this machine as an introduction. It comes very well packaged but the assembly instructions are a bit brief. It's not technically difficult to assemble but a little tricky / fiddly. It's well worth watching a few YouTube vids to boost your confidence before you start assembly. You need to be aware of the limitations of this machine. It is only a small machine so can only do small jobs. Larger projects take a lot of time. That's not a negative for this machine, you should just be aware of it's limitations. It's excellent value for money for what it does.

This Sainsmart Genmitsu 3018PRO CNC |is very easy to assemble. Took me only 110 minutes to build and I was taking my time. By building this from scratch I can say that I know every nut and bolt of this CNC machine. The wiring is so easy too, with no soldering at all. All connections are pluggable and the instruction manual is written in perfect English with clear diagrams in the instructions.Sainsmart customer support is very well advertised and they have a excellent web site. The 3018PRO can be customised with kits from Sainsmart. A kit to increase the size of the machine to a 3040 so if I decide I need a bigger machine I don’t have to start all over again. The spindle motor can be upgraded or replaced with a laser module instead. These features made the Sainsmart very attractive as a starter machine.Comes with lots of bundled software so no need to buy any. In fact the kit is all I needed to get started in the world of CNC. Comes with test programs that I used to test the machine too. Comes with warranty and all the manuals and software that comes with the machine can also be downloaded from their website. Can be used on wood, plastic even PCB’s.I got this through Amazon to give me the legendary service and delivery that Amazon is known for. With Amazon, there is always someone ready to help if I need it. I fully recommend this Sainsmart Genmitsu 3018PRO as a great way of getting into the world of CNC or even as a cost effective second machine.

I know that the price of this item should of raised alarm bells. But this product is awful, took ages to put together setting up software was awful it's like the software was designed for windows 95! And trying to get everything working just took way to Long. Refund requested.If you don't want a 4 hour headache avoid.

Although easy to assemble I found the Y axis bearings very rough and caused skipping in use. No amount of adjustment would help and I'm not sure if this was a one off but I had to return the item